In the morning, the alarm went off. Jiang Shengyan turned it off, got up, washed up, changed into her clothes, and walked out of her room.
Mother Jiang brought out breakfast and saw that her daughter was up.
"Yanyan, have you packed your things?"
"Mom, I've packed everything."
"Then hurry up and eat, you're going to school to register soon," Mother Jiang urged.
"Yanyan, do you really not need Mom to go to school with you? How about I take a day off to go with you for registration after all?" Mother Jiang was still somewhat worried.
The day before, Jiang Shengyan had already said she would go for registration by herself and didn't need anyone to take her.
Jiang Shengyan comforted her: "No need, I can manage on my own. It's not far from home anyway, you go to work." The Jiang family home was a fifteen-minute walk from Huaicheng No. 1 High School.
"Then be careful, and call Mom if anything comes up," Sheng Yue exhorted.
"Okay, I know."
……
Jiang Shengyan stood at the school gate and took a deep breath. The morning sunlight spilled across her face, carrying a hint of early autumn chill.
She looked up at the large golden characters above the school gate—"Huaicheng No. 1 High School"—and a complex wave of emotions surged in her heart.
In her previous life, she had spent three years of high school here, but due to various reasons, she ultimately failed to get into her ideal university. Yet in this lifetime, she had been given a chance to start over.
She tightened her grip on her backpack straps and stepped into the campus.
There were already quite a few students and parents bustling about the campus, and the air was filled with the tension and anticipation of a new semester.
Jiang Shengyan walked straight toward the bulletin board, where the new student class assignments were posted. Her gaze swept quickly across the list, and she finally found her name in the column for "Parallel Class 3."
"Parallel Class 3..." Jiang Shengyan murmured softly, feeling somewhat conflicted. In her previous life, because of her father's connections, she had been directly assigned to Parallel Class 1. But in this lifetime, having refused her father's arrangements, she was assigned to Class 3; perhaps she truly had no affinity with that other class.After finding her class, Jiang Shengyan walked down the corridor toward the Class 3 classroom. Quite a few students were already seated inside, chatting in small groups and creating a relaxed, lively atmosphere.
When Jiang Shengyan appeared at the classroom door, the noisy chatter inside abruptly stopped the moment she showed up.
Everyone's eyes involuntarily turned toward her, as if time had been pressed on a pause button.
Jiang Shengyan's medium-length hair hung softly over her shoulders, the ends curling slightly to accentuate her delicate features. Her skin was fair, her brows and eyes carrying a hint of cool detachment with little expression.
She stood at the doorway, swept her gaze across the classroom, and finally chose a seat by the window to sit down.
It wasn't until she sat down that the classroom regained its noise, but this time the murmurs were entirely different from before.
"Gosh, who is she? She's so pretty!" a front-row girl whispered, keeping her eyes fixed in Jiang Shengyan's direction.
"No idea. I didn't expect our class to have such a gorgeous girl," a nearby boy responded in a low voice, a hint of excitement in his tone.
"She is just too pretty! She looks like she walked straight out of a manga!" another girl couldn't help exclaiming, her voice full of envy.
"Look at her skin, it's practically glowing. Does she never see the sun? I spent the whole summer vacation playing outside and my skin is practically peeling." Someone couldn't resist taking out their phone to snap a few photos.
Jiang Shengyan paid no attention to these discussions. She lowered her head to take a book from her bag, opened it gently, and focused her gaze on the pages. The sunlight outside the window spilled across her profile, casting a soft halo over her cool, aloof demeanor."She really has such an amazing aura. Is she a fairy fallen from the heavens?" someone whispered in admiration.
"Yeah, she feels like that kind of... ethereal goddess who touches no earthly food," another agreed.
Almost all the topics of conversation in the classroom revolved around Jiang Shengyan, with everyone discussing her appearance and aura. Yet Jiang Shengyan remained quietly seated the whole time, as if isolated from the surrounding commotion, completely immersed in her own world.
Not long after she sat down, a round-faced girl with short hair next to her turned around and flashed her a brilliant smile. "Hi there! My name is Lin Mengke. What's your name?"
Looking at Jiang Shengyan's expressionless and cold demeanor, Lin Mengke had been a bit timid at first. But being a huge fan of good looks, she couldn't help herself and made the first move anyway.
Jiang Shengyan was momentarily stunned, then immediately returned the smile. "Hello, I'm Jiang Shengyan."
"Jiang Shengyan? What a pretty name! And you are so gorgeous," Lin Mengke said, blinking as she stared at Jiang Shengyan's face, a hint of playfulness in her tone. "Which middle school did you graduate from?"
"You're very cute too. I'm from Huayang Middle School," Jiang Shengyan replied, feeling a bit emotional inside. In her past life, she and Lin Mengke hadn't been close; she only knew that Lin Mengke had a cheerful personality, was well-liked, and knew many people in Class Three back then. Yet in this lifetime, they had actually become deskmates.
"Wow, Huayang! I know it. I even have friends over there," Lin Mengke said happily. "I'm from the No. 1 High School Affiliated Middle School. It's really close to here, so I came straight here."
Jiang Shengyan smiled without saying much. No wonder she was so popular—she was cute and had a great personality. Lin Mengke seemed to be a natural social butterfly, and getting along with her would probably be quite pleasant.
Sure enough, before long, Lin Mengke started chattering endlessly about school gossip.
Jiang Shengyan looked at her in some astonishment. Wasn't this just the first day of school? How did she already know so much gossip?
"You know so much," Jiang Shengyan said, genuinely surprised.
"Just a little hobby of mine, hehe. There isn't a single piece of school gossip I don't know," Lin Mengke patted her chest and declared confidently.
"That's really impressive!" Jiang Shengyan praised sincerely with a smile.
The ability to gather gossip did represent a person's interpersonal skills to some extent, and there was no denying that interpersonal relationships had indeed been her weak spot in her previous life.
Although she was currently prioritizing school above all else, she didn't want to completely close off her eyes and ears or refuse to interact with anyone. It was just that for now, she would be friends with those she clicked with and let go of those she didn't—it wasn't a big deal either way.
She also believed she could handle it well. After all, her interpersonal relationships in middle school and university hadn't been bad; she just needed to be herself.
Lin Mengke blushed a little from the praise, her round face and big, watery eyes making her look utterly adorable.
"Then can I call you Yanyan from now on?" Lin Mengke was a huge enthusiast for good looks and had zero resistance against pretty little fairies.
"Of course. Then I'll call you Keke from now on," Jiang Shengyan smiled faintly.
"Mm-hm! Yanyan, when you first walked into the classroom without any expression, you looked so aloof that I was a bit scared to talk to you. But when you smile, you're so pretty, and you look so much gentler," Lin Mengke exclaimed, staring at Jiang Shengyan's face.
"Uh, when I'm nervous, I might look a bit expressionless. I'm not really that cold," Jiang Shengyan had often heard people say that she looked hard to approach when she didn't smile.